I’m not even getting a buzz. Well, alcohol no longer seems to affect me anyway, but today would have been a nice day to get drunk.
I looked at the pair. They were also drinking in grim silence, not offering much in the way of conversation. The only thing worth mentioning was their drinking speed, which concerned me a little. But they were assassins, so they ought to know their limits.
Then again, that’s only if they’ve got a shred of sanity left. That look I saw in Egar’s eyes earlier worries me. Those eyes that reminded me of that lady assassin. That look… Does he have a death wish? I only hope he doesn’t do something reckless.
And why am I so worried about them in the first place? I barely know them. We only did a little job together.
“Welcome, my lord! I’m so sorry, but we’re full right now.”
“Then empty a table.”
I turned my eyes toward the gruff voice and saw an irate man by the door. I could tell from his face that he was a pesky nobleman, and an audible sigh escaped me.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t do that,” the barkeeper apologized.
Then the nobleman kicked a chair. Ugh, he’s the worst.
“Hey, dumbass.”
Huh? That voice… Lange?! What the hell are you doing? If you mess with this guy, you’ll be in big trouble.
“Adventurer scum—do you know who the hell I am? Eh?”
Even in this village, he wants to cause trouble—that little prick. I heard his grandfather was quite the tyrant as well, but the family’s reputation got worse and worse with each passing generation. They had one business failure after another, too. That must be why he came to this tavern; it has lower prices than the one the aristocrats usually go to. Most aristocrats wouldn’t sweat the price, but this guy probably can’t even afford the surcharge.
“Hah! You’re just a puffed-up hack, aren’t ya?”
Now Egar’s provoking him, too. The guy’s got good eyes, though. He’s not wrong.
“What did you call me, scumbag?! Nobody picks a fight with a nobleman and walks away from it. Get him!”
His bodyguards…they’re common thugs, especially the guy on the right. There’s no telling what he might do. Luckily, Egar and Lange are strong enough to hold their own…
I looked at them and sensed a disturbing air around them.
What is it? Ah…they look quite eager for this. Wait—are they trying to get themselves killed?!
“Hold it.”
I grabbed the bodyguard’s raised arm to stop him from attacking. Then I looked at Egar and Lange, closely examining their stances. I was right.
“What’s your problem? You don’t need to stop him from—”
“You know you really want to live. Don’t pretend you want to die.”
The pair gasped in unison. They didn’t even notice what their hands were gripping at that moment.
“Your hands.”
“Huh? Oh!”
Egar and Lange both looked dumbstruck when they noticed their hands on their weapons. They truly had no self-awareness. But these guys weren’t like that woman—Egar and Lange both wanted to live.
“Hey…ya bastard! Stay outta my way!”
Is this guy really a nobleman? He sounds just like a crass adventurer to me.
The nobleman grabbed me by the collar and raised his fist.
“Hold it right there, sir.”
Then the barkeeper grabbed the aristocrat’s fist, leaned in close to him, and smirked.
“A child of the nobility was attacked yesterday just outside this village. The bodyguards quickly intervened, but somebody did indeed attack a child.”
Yeah, I remember hearing that rumor when I was at the adventurer guild. Huh. Now all the color just drained out of this nobleman’s face. Interesting.
“The child’s parents are looking for the attacker, you know,” the barkeeper informed the nobleman. “And there was a witness.”
“Huh?! But there wasn’t anybody around for miles—damn it!”
“Heh. What makes you think there was nobody around? Is it because you were there?”
I looked at the barkeeper. His poker face was convincing nobody—the guy was laughing, and I didn’t blame him. All it had taken to get this noble idiot to sing was a little shaking.
C-clunk.
Uh-oh. The man who just stood up is looking at us for sure. No, wait, he’s looking at the nobleman next to me.
“I’d run away if I were you,” the barkeeper said.
The nobleman shook his arm free and scrambled out of the tavern.
“I’m leaving my payment here, barkeep,” the man said.
“Thanks for your patronage.”
The man glanced at us, gave a little bow, then turned and left.
Ah, now I get it. The attacked child’s parent came to buy intel from this barkeeper. He’s got keen ears, after all. Sometimes he gets intel I couldn’t imagine him possibly finding out. Is he a former adventurer? He’d have to have been quite a famous one, too.
But anyway…
“Terrifying.”
While warding off one nobleman, he’d just earned a debt of gratitude from another.
“Nonsense. I’m just a friendly neighborhood barkeep.”
Um, no, you just ended that nobleman’s life. But he deserved it, so I can’t complain. Besides, that isn’t the sort of catchphrase a barkeep should say with a secretive twinkle in his eye.
“Never mind me—are those two okay?” the barkeep asked.
I looked at Egar and Lange. Judging by their expressions, they had experienced quite a shock. Was the idea that they’d want to live really such a bad thing?
I looked at the barkeeper.
“I didn’t see a thing,” he said.
“Thanks.”
This guy’s good. He knows when to quit.
“C’mon, we’re going,” I told the pair.
“What?!” they gasped.
I paid for the three of us, grabbed the assassins’ arms, and headed out of the tavern. Egar had a grim look on his face, while Lange seemed anguished.
“This way,” I said, releasing their arms and taking the lead. I let them make the choice whether to follow me or not. I glanced behind me and saw they were following.
I took them back to the inn where I was staying.
“Here you go.”
I handed them both some tea and slowly sipped on my own.
…Too weak.
Tea leaves were expensive, so I always brewed the same leaves over and over, but seven times had probably been too much. I wasn’t exactly strapped for cash, but I still found myself reusing my old tea leaves anyway.
“We’re so sorry…”
I looked over to see Egar bowing his head.